A.L. Cy Young winner Verlander also wins MVP award

Detroit’s Justin Verlander became the first starting pitcher in a quarter-century to win a Most Valuable Player award, adding the A.L. honor Monday to the Cy Young Award he won last week. He received 13 of the 28 first-place votes and 280 points in voting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Boston outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury was second (4 firsts, 242 points) and Toronto outfielder Jose Bautista third (5 firsts, 231). Verlander, who won the A.L. pitching triple crown (24-5, 2.40 ERA, 250 strikeouts), is the first pitcher voted MVP since Dennis Eckersley in 1992 and the first starting pitcher since Roger Clemens in 1986. The 2006 A.L. Rookie of the Year, Verlander joins the Brooklyn Dodgers’ Don Newcombe as the only players to win all three major awards. -AP